Community Gardening Network

Community Gardening Network of Ottawa is an information and resource-sharing network that supports the sustainable development of community gardens within the City.

The central activities of the CGN are:

to assist two or more community gardens to get established each year, including building skills and capacity through our “How to Start a Community Garden” workshops and resources;

to work with private and public landowners to increase access to land for community gardens in the city;

to keep food and gardening information flowing between Just Food, the community garden coordinators, and the gardeners;

to build gardening skills in the city through our beginner level gardening workshops;

to encourage food preservation of the summer’s harvest through our canning and food preservation workshops;

to raise awareness in the city about community gardening through online newsletters and special events such as the annual Urban Agriculture Bike Tour;

and to celebrate the season through a harvest party.

Community Garden Development Fund

The Community Garden Development Fund was established in 2009, as a collaboration between Just Food, the City of Ottawa and members of the Community Gardening Network, each providing representation to the annual allocations committee. The annual $76,000 fund is used to start new community gardens, and to expand and enhance existing gardens, within the City of Ottawa.

In August 2015 Ottawa City Council passed a motion to increase the Community garden Development Fund by $15,000 annually.

Gardening Workshop Series

Just Food delivers an annual workshop series that parallels the growing season. All workshops are typically $10.00 or pay-what-you-can.

Starting in the late winter and spring, the Beginner Level Organic Vegetable Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Natural Pest Control, and Herbal Tips and TricksWorkshops are offered at various locations around the City.

Beginner Organic Vegetable Gardening teaches the basics in growing common variety vegetables in the Ottawa region without the use of pesticides or herbicides.

Square Foot Gardening explains the use of Mel Bartholomew’s technique to maximize your garden spaces yield. Perfect for those gardening in Community Gardens or in small planters at home.

Natural Pest Control Workshop helps the novice gardener deal with garden pests, rodents and viruses – all without the use of chemicals.

Herbal Tips and Tricks teaches participants the basics of healing plants that you can incorporate into your garden. This includes their benefits and how you can use them.

A Seed Saving Workshop is typically offered in late-summer. This workshop teaches you how to save seeds from your favourite vegetable varieties from year-to-year.

Food preservation is an excellent way to save your gardens’ bounty while extending the flavours of the season until well after harvest time. Food Preservation Workshops are offered each year they typically can occur anytime between mid June until October.

If you would like to:

participate in a workshop

help organize a workshop in your neighbourhood or workplace (we will provide the trained facilitators)

A program that was created to direct more fresh produce to local food banks and food cupboards, Plant a Row, Grow a Row, Donate a Row encourages every resident with a garden or farm, including members of community gardens, to plant extra rows of vegetables in for donation to the Ottawa Food Bank and its distribution points across the city.

Start-up Farm Program

Just Food established the Start-Up Farm Program to support new farmers in the Ottawa region. By offering access to land, shared infrastructure/equipment, and training, the program aims to enable more people in this region to start their own successful farm business.